Prince of Persia Epilogue DLC Revealed

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Ubisoft cranks up the difficulty as it expands the Prince's world.

By Hilary Goldstein

Prince of Persia was one of the last games to hit store shelves in '08. Now it becomes among the first to release major downloadable content in '09. The Prince of Persia Epilogue DLC comes to PS3 and Xbox 360 on February 26. Pricing has yet to be announced. What we do know is that the new POP continues the story of the retail game, ups the difficulty, adds a new power for Elika and attack for the Prince, reveals a brand new location, and includes two unlockable skins that become available after completing the Epilogue. It's a significant update.

IGN spoke with Jamal Rguigui, Associate Producer for the Epilogue DLC, about the upcoming expansion. We learned a great deal about the adjustments being made to Prince of Persia to add some challenge, Elika's new "Energize" power, and learn about the return of someone we all thought was dead.

IGN: First off, a lot of folks will wonder why this wasn't included in the full game. Do you have a response to ease gamer concerns?

Jamal Rguigui: The team decided to go on ahead full throttle with some cool ideas that the team had during and post-production and developed a unique DLC that would enhance the experience for Prince of Persia fans. We have a lot of ambitions for the DLC and we are filtering all the feedback from the industry and the community of gamers. Players can expect to have a specific experience that will give them more content with superior difficulty and pace. This is one of the most ambitious DLC projects from Ubisoft, and it adds to the understanding of PoP's new world and characters.

IGN: How does the story connect with the retail game?

Rguigui: The story is directly set after the events of the retail game.

IGN: Can you give us a little bit on the story and how much it adds to the original game?

Rguigui: Without spoiling the end of the game to those who haven't completed it, the DLC will develop the relationship between the Prince and Elika following the end of the game and will give additional narrative elements. Also, players will discover the immense and once glorious Underground Palace which is now corrupted and where danger awaits every corner.

IGN: How do I access the new content? Do I have to have finished POP in order to play the DLC?

Rguigui: The content will be downloadable via XBL and PSN. It is not necessary to have finished the Prince of Persia game to play the DLC.

IGN: There are four powers in the retail game, all of which are travel based. Is this the same for the new power? How does it work?

Rguigui: Elika's new power "Energize" is a travel based power that adds a timing challenge. This power allows Elika for a short period of time to materialize an area of the environment that was previously destroyed. Therefore, the Prince and Elika will be able to access areas previously impossible to reach without this power.

IGN: Explain the new enemy we will have in the DLC.

Rguigui: The Shapeshifter is an enemy that takes the form of two of Ahriman's most fearsome Lieutenants, the Warrior and the Hunter. Though their physical form is familiar to our heroes and the player, it will requires a particular strategy to defeat the Shapeshifter, rewarding the player that takes advantage of the new sprint feature exclusive to the Epilogue.

IGN: What's the new attack being added and how does that affect the combo strings in POP?

Rguigui: Since we wanted everything to feel more intense, we added the "Sprinting Clash" making both the Prince and his foes more dangerous. When at a distance from the enemy, the player can mash the Acrobatic button to sprint. This leads to an opportunity for the player to "stun" the attacker and therefore take the offensive. These make for even more intense combat sequences and with a little creativity, the player can create some rather memorable moments in duels. Honestly, it's a pretty cool move and can really change the dynamics for combat!